To create one, a kid winds extra-thin tape around a plain pencil, paints it, and then unwraps the tape. Each design has a personality all its own: A pencil with parallel stripes, for instance, makes math homework fun, while dreamy blue spirals are lovely for writing secrets in a journal.
Tip: Natural-color cedar pencils work well. Kids can make different styles by varying tape size, wrapping tape in different ways, and painting alternating colors between bands.